RailAmerica Shelves Plans to Export Coal From Washington

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- RailAmerica Inc., the short-line
railroad being bought by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. for $1.39
billion, has shelved plans to export coal from a port in the
Pacific Northwest.

The company decided not to pursue a project to export as
much as 5 million metric tons of coal a year from Grays Harbor,
Washington, to Asia, Paul Queary, a company spokesman, said
today in a telephone interview.

RailAmerica’s decision comes as environmentalist groups
such as the Sierra Club hold rallies, town hall meetings and
petition government agencies to reject plans for projects,
including those backed by coal producers Peabody Energy Corp.
and Arch Coal Inc., which might export as much as 146 million
tons of coal annually from ports in the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s an indicator that these companies are questioning
the wisdom of exporting coal through the Pacific Northwest,”
said Cesia Kearns, senior campaign representative for the Sierra
Club’s Coal Exports Campaign. “It’s going to continue to be an
uphill battle.”

RailAmerica’s decision to forgo the project is “purely a
business decision,” Queary said. Opportunities to ship other
products may materialize faster than the coal plan, he said.

Decisions to move forward with coal terminals in the region
are made on a case-by-case basis depending on how much companies
want to spend and how long they’re willing to wait for the
project to begin operations, said Mike Dudas, an analyst at
Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. in New York. RailAmerica’s move to
abandon its plan doesn’t mean that coal producers will ditch
theirs, he said.